60 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 



weeks, they should be thinned to about four or less to an 

 inch in the row. They should now be well hardened by 

 partly drawing off the sashes in the warm part of the 

 day, and covering at night ; as the season advances re- 

 move the sashes entirely by day, covering only at night. 

 By about the middle of April the plants will be ready 

 for the open ground. 



When raised in cold frames in the Spring, the seed 

 should be planted about the first of April, mats being 

 used to retain by night the solar heat accumulated dur- 

 ing the day. As the season advances the same process 

 of hardening will be necessary as with those raised in 

 hot beds. 



COLD FRAME AXD HOT BED. 



To carry on hot beds on a large scale successfully is 

 almost an art in itself — and for fuller details I will refer 

 my readers to works on gardening. Early plants in a 

 small way may be raised in flower pots or boxes in a 

 warm kitchen window. It is best if practicable, to have 

 but one plant in each pot that they may grow short and 

 stocky. If the seed are not planted earlier than April 

 for out of door cultivation a cold frame will answer. 



For a Cold Frame select the locality in the Fall; 

 choosing a warm location on a southern slope, protected 

 by a fence or building on the north and northwest. Set 

 posts in the ground, nail two boards to these parallel to 

 each other, one about a foot in height, and the other 

 towards the south about four inches narrower ; this will 

 give the sashes resting on them the right slope to shed 

 the rain and receive as much heat as possible from the 

 sun. Have these boards at a distance apart equal to 

 the length of the sash, which iday be any common win- 

 dow sash for a small bed, while three and a half feet is 



